Dwell in Fearlessness: Annapurna Base Camp Trek

About

You will be trekking along the southern slopes of the Annapurna Himal offering dramatic close-up views of either the Annapurna range or the Dhaulagiri range. The reward to effort ratio is higher on this trek than any other Nepal trek. Our goal is the glacier-covered amphitheater of the 4200 m Annapurna Sanctuary. Here you will be ringed by the peaks of the Annapurna Himal including Annapurna I and the "Fishtail" peak of Machhapuchhare. You return to Pokhara by way of Birethanti. The 10-days trek is non-technical and suitable for anyone in good shape who likes to hike over mountain trail and stay at rustic lodges!

Tentative Itinerary

Day 1
Arrival in Kathmandu
Pick-up at Tribhuvan International Airport, meeting with your guide and transfer to the hotel. First impressions of Kathmandu (1 350 m) – walk to medieval Kathmandu Durbar Square and explore the beautiful complex of palaces, temples, shrines and courtyards built by the ancient Nepali kings between the 12th and 18th century. We bring you to our office and Thamel - the vibrant tourist area with hotels, restaurants, bakeries and outdoor shops. We get to know each other over a welcome dinner, check formalities and equipment and discuss your itinerary.

Day 2
Busdrive to Nayapool
After breakfast we drive with a comfortable tourist bus in 8 hours to Nayapol where we sleep just before start the trek. During the bus drive, you will see the beautiful mountain ranges like Langtang valley, Ganesh Himal, Manaslu region, Lamjhung Himal and whole Annapurna range including Dhaulagiri from some driving points. Tonight we will sleep at Bhirthati. By the evening, we will finish checking our formalities with Annapurna conservation area counter and TIMS cards.

Day 3
Trek to Jhinu Danda
After our breakfast we start to trekking at an elevation of 1040 m. As you continue along the Modi Khola river bank you are rewarded with great mountain views on the astounding Macchapucchare (6 882 m) or“Fishtail” peak which will dominate the skyline the coming days. Today is a 4 hours long walk to Jhinu Danda (1 750 m). After lunch camp together we will procced down to natural hot spring bath at Modi Khola river.

Day 4
Trek Chomrong
As we leave Tolka the trail descends to the Tigu Khola river and climbs up again through forests to a ridge.After the ridge we make a pleasant walk passing rice terraces, fields and streams. The path further leads to Landruk (1 620 m), the hot springs of Jhinu Danda (1 750 m) and Chomrong (2 210 m), the last permanent village in the upper Moda Khola river valley. We stay in Chomrong blessed by tremendous views of Annapurna South and Hiunchuli.

Day 5
Trek Dovan
After Chomrong the trail descends 150 m over a stone staircase and crosses the Chomrong river. We climb out of the side valley via the small settlement of Tilche through forests of bamboo, rhododendron and oak. We lunch in Sinuwa (2 340 m) and climb for about an hour through a bamboo and rhododendron forest populated with many monkeys. We enter now the upper Modi Valley and see the lodges of Bamboo and Dovan below. Overnight in Dovan (2 500m).

Day 6
Trek Deurali
The day begins with a climb along across a landslide and through a forest with a small temple where locals offer flowers, clothes or leaves. We have a cup of tea in Himalayan Hotel, situated in a deep gorge and continue our way to Hinku Cave situated at 3 100 m. After 4 hours walking we reach Deurali (3 140 m).

Day 7
Trek Annapurna Base Camp
Above Deurali the valley widens and becomes less steep and you can see the gates to the sanctuary as the mountains really start to kick in. To avoid a dangerous avalanch area we climb through bamboo and birch woods. We arrive at Machhapuchhare Base Camp situated at 3 700 m - which isn’t technically a base camp since climbing of the mountain is prohibited. The panorama includes Hiunchuli, Annapurna South, Annapurna I, Annapurna III (7 555m), Gangapurna (7 454 m) and Macchapucchare. We will have our lunch here and continue to climb we ascent 1,5 h to Annapurna Basecamp (4 200 m). We also take a chance to walk around in the evening and sunset at Macchapucchare. This is our highest camp of this trek.

Day 8
Trek to Bamboo
In the early morning around 5:45 AM wake up for sunrise in Annapurna I and walk to glaicers- We take our breakfast at the basecamp in our hotel.We enjoy tremendous views of the near-vertical south face of Annapurna towering above the sanctuary of the northwest and are literally ringed by the peaks and the glaciers of the Annapurna Himal including Annapurna I (8 091 m), Annapurna South (7 219 m) and the Fishtailpeak of Macchapucchare. After breakfast we return to Bamboo in 4 hours where we spend the night.

Day 9
Pokhara
Heading back the valley is much easier. After 4 hours we arrive at Kimrong (2 230 m) where we will have lunch and walk further 2;30 hours to catch jeep and drive back to Pokhara. In Pokhara, we will have last party with our porter and sightseeing around in Phewa Lake. Tonight, we will sleep at Hotel Mandav.

Day 10
Drive back to Kathmandu
After 6 hours long drive we reach in Kathmandu. Our last farewell dinner at Third Eye restarurnat. And last shopping in vibrant Thamel.

A little more about the trip

Visas are free for all tourists who come from a SAARC country. Indian nationals do not need a visa. Carry your Passport, License or your voters id card while on the trip.
For those of you new to trekking, you have a wonderful experience in store. Trekking is walking, generally on good trails, usually up and down (sometimes 900 m a day), carrying only a day pack, through magnificent scenery. The day starts early, and often the bulk of the day's kilometers are covered in morning hours. The shorter afternoon hike brings you to the site of the lodge to be used that night.
This trip is designed so that an average hiker will require 5-6 hours of hiking per day to reach the evening’s camp. In general this is a moderate trek, but remember that trails are often steep in Nepal and at 3 000 m any hiking can seem strenuous.One should walk / trek as per the speed you are comfortable with. On some days altitude gains and looses of up to 900 m can be expected. Strengthen your knee muscles and prepare for several days of steep descents of anywhere up to 900 m. Should anyone have altitude problems during this trek, it will be possible to drop down till Namche.
Personal gear will be carried by porters. Porters can carry two members' duffel bags. Since their load is 25 kg, this means that your duffel cannot exceed twelve kilos.
We stay in locally owned lodges and will receive an insight into family living. All the guest houses have toilets and cold showers. Some of the guesthouses have hot showers available and every lodge is equipped with solar power systems for lightning. The main common room has a heater, nice in the cold nights.
Remember that, the latitude of Nepal is between 26 degree and 30 degree N so it will warm at the lower elevations (shorts and T-shirt) while nights will be cool. Day temperatures will be between 10 degree C and 15 degree C at the lower elevations and between 5 degree C and 10 degree C at our highest elevations during spring.
We are fully aware that you can buy bottled waters in this region. The bottled waters are expensive and more over this region is the remotest part of the world and does not have great civic services. Trekkers will consume bottled waters and dump plastics which in-turn will harm this wonderful Khumbu region and we are a bit sensitive to it so we have been requesting our trekkers to use running stream water and purify them. We think it is a very small way we can help the nature and all most all of our trekkers agree to it happily. However, we leave it to your choice and if you like to have bottled waters then you can buy them and have.
Nepal is like not home. It is exotic, it is wonderful, but it is also different. Great elevation changes, differences in customs and language, menu variations, lodge limitations, and the many other mysteries and wonders of travel in Nepal are all conditions you must be physically and mentally prepared for.
We want you to participate in the trip with the clear understanding that things can go wrong. Adventure travel does involve certain risks both emotional and physical. One has to be flexible when traveling in Nepal and have a cheerful attitude.

How to reach Kathmandu?

By Air
Reaching Kathmandu by air is the easiest way. Lots of Indian domestic airlines have direct flights to Kathmandu.
Nearest Airport: Tribhuwan International Airport at Kathmandu, NepalBy Train
If you travel by railways,you have to reach any of the border stations like New Jalpaiguri in West Bengal or Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, and then walk across the border and take vehicles/buses on the other side to Kathmandu.
Nearest Rail Head: New Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, Route Hubs: Kakarvitta, BiratnagarBy Bus
From Siliguri or New Jalpaiguri Railway Station: Take a shared cab or bus to Panitanki. (Shared cabs go till border, Busses will drop you at Panitanki, from where you need to walk for about 10 minutes to reach the border gate. You reach Panitanki in about an hour from Siliguri.) Vehicles for Panitanki are available from 'Darjeeling More' in Siliguri. Once you cross the border, bus stand is little far away. Walk straight and take the first right turn, or else, ask anyone. Everyone understands and speaks Hindi across the border. From the bus stand, you get Deluxe and Luxury buses to Kathmandu. Mostly, they leave in the evening between 4 PM to 7 PM. Its approximately 14 hours journey.

FAQs

What is the fitness level required for the trek?
The trekking route is indeed challenging and one should be convinced that he/she is going to take this challenge and complete the trek. More often than not, it will be your mental ability than the physical fitness level which will stop us. We have had trekkers who are overweight by 15 -20 Kgs and in their 60s completing the trek. The trekking is long as every day we will be trekking for 5-6 hours on an average and there are 12 days so one needs to have patience.How do I prepare for the expedition?
We advise you to start walking regularly for as long as possible. This will help you a lot. If possible go for small treks in your vicinity. Try to go for longer morning walks at least 20 days before the trekking date. If you are gym goers then we advise you to not do weight lifting activities at least 10 days before the trek and do only cardio and stretching exercises. Try to walk for long on a treadmill in incline mode. The reason we advise you to stop weightlifting as that has chances of muscle injuries and generally, it takes a week or 10 days to get back to normal. A program of cardiovascular conditioning such as running, swimming, biking or aerobics is essential, but try to supplement your exercise with hiking on steep hills or running up and down steps. The more you can condition by closely simulating the activities of trekking, the better off you will be. While the trip is rated as moderate overall, several days will be strenuous, and good conditioning is essential to your enjoyment of the trek.

Who are we?

Mr. Dawa Lama Tamang is an international travel expert and guide who has been working since a decade with great passion and devotion in the Himalayas. He started his career as an English teacher combined with jobs as mountain guide throughout all Nepal. After leading and organizing treks for a decade (for the leading traveling companies of Nepal) he is currently the Head for Mountaineering Department,Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN). He and his team will provide you the ultimate Trekking experience ensuring maximum safety and pleasure!

Cancellation Policy

Redrawlife allows passionaries to choose among three standardized cancellation policies (Flexible, Moderate, and Strict) that we will enforce to protect both customer and passionary alike.
Flexible : 90% refund up until 5 days prior to course date
Moderate : 70% refund up until 5 days prior to course date
Strict: 50% refund up until 5 days prior to course date

If you have any queries you can contact our support : Support website or shoot us a mail at: support@redrawlife.com

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